Amnesty International Report 1996 - Somalia

Continuing conflict between militias of various clan-based factions resulted in gross human rights abuses, including hundreds of deliberate and arbitrary killings, dozens of politically motivated detentions, torture and ill-treatment. Over 20 people had limbs amputated on the orders of Islamic courts and several others condemned to death by courts of various kinds were executed. The two-year mandate of the UN peace-making operation (UNOSOM II) ended in March 1995. The remaining 20,000 UN troops and 700 civilian staff withdrew and UN funding for the UN-established police, courts, prisons, and regional and district administration councils stopped. The UN failed to stop political violence or to establish a transitional government for the former Republic of Somalia, which had disintegrated in 1991. Throughout 1995 there was no recognized central government or effective system of law and justice. There was renewed fighting in Mogadishu, particularly after the UN's withdrawal, between rival militias and especially those of General Mohamed Farah Aideed in south Mogadishu and Ali Mahdi in north Mogadishu. Each of these political leaders claimed overall governmental authority – with General Aideed declaring himself head of a "national government" in June – although neither achieved international recognition. Clan-based political organizations allied either to General Aideed or to Ali Mahdi's Somali Salvation Alliance (SSA) controlled other regions. In some areas, such as the northeast region, there was greater stability, but there was also fighting between rival groups at different times in the towns of Belet Weyne and Kismayu, and particularly around Baidoa in the last quarter of the year after General Aideed's forces attacked the area, which had been under the control of the local Digil-Mirifle clan. In the self-declared Somaliland Republic in the northwest, there was an interim administration headed by Mohamed Ibrahim Egal. Intermittent fighting took place throughout the year around Burao town with militias of the Garhajis clan and, in October, with militias of the Isse clan near the Djibouti border. The criminal justice system remained almost totally ineffective, despite the unosom presence up to March. Arbitrary detentions and summary informal trials were common. Cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments, including amputations and flogging, were inflicted. In Somaliland some efforts were made to establish a new justice system and regional administration, and to draft a constitution. In March the UN Commission on Human Rights renewed the mandate of the Independent Expert on Somalia and a new Independent Expert had been appointed by the end of the year. By the end of the much-criticized UN operation in March, the UN had taken no action against UN troops accused of human rights violations or responded to Amnesty International's appeals calling for investigations into human rights abuses and for efforts to promote human rights. In Canada a public civilian inquiry established in March into the behaviour of the Canadian contingent in the UN force in Somalia in 1993 was continuing at the end of the year. In March the last of seven soldiers tried by court-martial in connection with the beating to death of a Somali teenager was convicted of negligence, demoted and severely reprimanded. In November an appeal court-martial increased the sentence imposed on one soldier, convicted of negligence in this incident, from 90 days to one year's imprisonment and ordered the retrial of an officer who had been acquitted. In Belgium in October a court-martial convicted a Belgian officer of ordering mock executions of detained Somali children in 1993 but only sentenced him to a suspended sentence of eight days; it acquitted nine soldiers of torturing the children and halted the prosecutions on related charges of six other soldiers (see Amnesty International Report 1995). The continuing conflict was accompanied by gross human rights abuses by some of the factions, particularly General Aideed's forces. These abuses included hundreds of deliberate killings of civilians, torture and the forced displacement of defeated clans or vulnerable minority communities. Clan elders were among those deliberately killed by opposing clans and women were raped. The fighting added to the million or more refugees who had fled from Somalia in previous years, while up to a half a million other Somalis were internally displaced. Owing to the continued insecurity in many areas, few humanitarian organizations were able to continue their work. Several aid workers were killed and others abducted, allegedly by gunmen linked to certain political factions, although this was difficult to verify. Information on prisoners of conscience and political detainees held by political factions was difficult to obtain, although the number of those detained – as distinct from opponents who were summarily executed – was believed to be small. Twenty-one international aid workers were detained in Baidoa for some days in September by General Aideed's forces who captured the town. Two Somali journalists reporting for international news agencies, Aden Mohamed Ali and Ali Mussa Abdi, were detained by General Aideed's forces in August and September respectively. Articles they had written were seen as giving a negative image of General Aideed's declaration of a "national government". Both journalists were held in harsh conditions for several days – Ali Mussa Abdi was kept blindfold, handcuffed and incommunicado – before being transferred to a former police station where conditions were less severe and where they were allowed family visits. Aden Mohamed Ali was subsequently taken to the former central prison and was released uncharged after 17 days in custody. He then left the country. Ali Mussa Abdi, who said he had previously received 22 death threats on account of his journalistic work, escaped to safety in north Mogadishu after three weeks. Some critics of General Aideed from within his own organization were also detained briefly, including Khadija Abdi Fandhe, a women's association leader, who was held under house arrest for some days in July for opposing General Aideed. In March, 12 fishermen – 11 Pakistani nationals and a Palestinian – were arrested by General Aideed's forces and detained in harsh conditions until October. They were reportedly held hostage in an attempt to press the Government of Pakistan on conditions for their release. An Islamic court, which was established in north Mogadishu in August 1994 in territory controlled by Ali Mahdi, subjected prisoners to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments including amputations and floggings. In 1995 about 18 people convicted of theft had their right hand, or their right hand and left foot, amputated. Scores of other people were flogged for disobeying Islamic laws on alcohol, dress or sexual behaviour. Prisoners were arrested by the court's own militias and detained in its own prison. At first, trials consistently fell short of international fair trial standards. Defendants had no right to legal defence representation or to appeal to a higher court against their conviction or sentence, but in the latter part of the year these rights were reportedly instituted and, with changes in the court's interpretation of Islamic law, this reduced the incidence of amputations. Islamic courts were also established in Gedo and other regions controlled by other political groups, and one court, in Belet Weyne, ordered four amputations in December. In Somaliland, hundreds of members of Garhajis clan militias were captured and detained in Hargeisa prison. Administration officials stated that they would be put on trial for treason, which carries the death penalty. Some of the detainees were released. Preliminary proceedings started in October in Hargeisa against opposition Garhajis leaders, who were tried in absentia, including the former head of the Somaliland administration, Abdirahman Ali Ahmed "Tur", and General Jama Mohamed Ghalib, both of whom had links with General Aideed. Two journalists were briefly detained in September in Hargeisa for publishing articles criticizing the Somaliland administration. Execution as a form of punishment was retained in all existing court systems – secular, Islamic and traditional clan courts. Several people were reported to have been condemned to death during the year by the Islamic court in north Mogadishu and executed. Amnesty International called on all Somali political organizations to end human rights abuses and, in particular, to fully respect Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which protects the rights of civilians and other people not actively involved in fighting during internal armed conflicts. In November Amnesty International published a report, Somalia: Building human rights in the disintegrated state. This again called for an end to human rights abuses, and for the rule of law to be established. It also called for international action to assist in the development of comprehensive human rights protection programs in consultation with relevant Somali civil organizations.